Jack Keane Quotes

"Historically, aggression unanswered has led to more aggression."

"Putin has put Russia on a path to be a world power with global influence."

"Qatar has funded and helped arm ISIS. They also, as we all know, fund Hamas. That's got to stop. And we've got to use our pressure against that country to knock that stuff off."

"Most people who aspire to be president don't have a foreign policy and national security background. The exception was certainly Hillary Clinton."

"In Washington, D.C., in 2006, Democrats had long since given up on the war in Iraq in terms of any tangible political support for it. The new factor was the Republicans were beginning to give up as well, and they were truly challenging the strategy and the lack of success."

"If you took ISIS' oil, that would not stop them. It's not their only source of revenue. It would be a setback, but it would not stop them."

"Afghanistan remains an opportunity to deal al Qaeda a vital strategic blow, especially since we have abandoned all operations - including counterterrorism operations - in Iraq."

"Everybody wants to talk about sectarian conflicts of the war in Iraq, but the fact of the matter is, Sunnis have lived with Shias in harmony more in the confines of Iraq, in that land, than they have been in conflict. That's an historical fact."

"In my own mind, it is profoundly disappointing to see what has occurred in Iraq given the sacrifice of our troops, given our commitment to removing Saddam Hussein and putting in place a fledgling government that would have a chance for a stable, secure Iraq."

"In 2005 in Iraq, the constitution was written. A new government was elected. That government was trying to take office in 2006."

"I have a close association with Gen. Petraeus... What you get in Dave Petraeus is a very unique officer, a combination of intelligence, extraordinary depth of knowledge and understanding."

"I remember speaking to a sheik who came back into the political system in late 2008, laid down his arms. His troops became part of the Sons of Iraq, the so-called Sunni Awakening."

"By the end of 2008, clearly the Al Qaeda and Sunni insurgency had been relatively stabilized. And in the Al Qaeda's mind, they were defeated."

"My involvement with Guantanamo began as vice chief of staff."

"Very unusual in an insurgency to have absolutely no political agenda other than to return to power. Most insurgents have a political side to them."

"Radical Islamists spread from Western Africa through the Middle East, all the way to South Asia to sub-Indian continent."

"I read people; that's one of my strengths. It's not that I can't be fooled, but I'm not fooled often."

"The Pentagon is actually a 10-story building, five up and five down."

"The Pentagon is a series of wedges. So you have - the outer wedge has windows on the outside, and then inside of that, it has windows with an alleyway; then there's another wedge with windows outside, windows inside. And we call them the E Ring, the D Ring, the C Ring."

"I have decorated soldiers for heroism before, and it was always such an honor to do it."

"Since 1989, we have been deploying on an average of every 18 months."

"Only four secretaries of defense served longer than Robert M. Gates. Many others were as dedicated; many sacrificed a great deal. Alone among them all, however, Mr. Gates had the task of turning around two wars that the U.S. was losing."

"Russia, their number one client in the Middle East is Syria; that is their foothold in the Middle East. They want to have influence there."

"Yes, we need a force to continue to train, assist, advise the Iraqi army."

"The success of ISIS is largely tied to the safe haven it has in Syria."

"ISIS is at war with America, but America is not at war with ISIS - not the president, nor the Congress, and certainly not the American people."

"I'm not in a position to go back into public service."

"We have a sufficient political class, and the military doesn't have to get involved in high national office. The days of doing that, post-Civil War and post-World War II, are gone."

"In 2011, General Alston, four-star commander in Iraq, recommended to the President, a force level of over 20,000. The President rejected it and pulled out all the forces with what is now known as a disastrous consequence in Syria."

"If you're going to maintain true authorities over a subordinate organization, you have to have some control over policy formulation of that organization and also the resources that are applied to it."